Page 48 of Shared By my Ex's Best Friends
I sit up slowly, meeting her gaze. “I care about them. All three of them. And I’m pretty sure they care about me too, which makes this whole thing feel… impossible.”
Ava doesn’t say anything for a second. Just reaches forward and plucks a fry from the box, like this is just another Thursday-night girl-talk session and not a full-blown emotional crisis. “Okay. So what are you going to do?”
“I don’tknow,” I exclaim, tugging a pillow into my lap and hugging it tight. “How am I supposed to choose? They’re all so different. Ethan is quiet and thoughtful and just—God, he’stalented. Like, he sees beauty in everything and makes me feel like I might be something beautiful too.”
Ava makes a soft “mmhmm” sound, chewing her fry.
“Jake is… he’s magnetic. I swear, the man could charm a wall. And he makes me laugh. Not like polite chuckles—likebelly laughs. Like I forget I’ve ever had a bad day. And Liam…”
I pause. My throat tightens unexpectedly.
“Liam looks at me like I’m the most important thing he’s ever seen,” I whisper. “Like he’d protect me from anything. Like it’s necessary for him to survive to do so.”
Ava’s face softens. She reaches over and gives my hand a squeeze. “You sound like you’re in love.”
My laugh is shaky. “With three people?”
She leans back and shrugs. “Is that really so impossible?”
I blink. “I mean… yes? Isn’t it?”
Ava raises her brows as she leans forward, elbows on her knees. “Maya, you do realize there are relationships that don’t follow the one-and-done rule, right? Like, not everyone lives their life according to a Hallmark movie. People make theirownrules. Every day. It doesn’t have to be what anyone else expects as long as it works foryou.”
I blink at her, stunned. “You think I could just… not choose?”
She tilts her head, her voice quiet but unwavering. “I think the bigger question is, do youwantto choose?”
That stops me cold. The air in the room seems to go still. My heart kicks once, sharp and hard against my ribs.
Deep down, under all the panic and uncertainty, I already know the answer.
I don’t want to choose. I want all of them.
I want Jake’s laughter and the way he tugs me in with a wink and a grin like we’ve known each other forever.
I want Ethan’s quiet focus and the gentle steadiness that makes me feel like I’m beingseenin a way that’s more intimate than touch.
I want Liam’s unwavering strength—the way his presence feels like a wall at my back, unmovable, safe.
I want to kiss Jake under the stars, just because we can.
I want to sit in a patch of sunlight beside Ethan while he sketches in silence, both of us wrapped in that kind of quiet that feels like second nature.
I want to rest my head against Liam’s chest after a long day, breathe in his scent, and feel the world melt away.
I wantall of it.
“I didn’t even realize that was an option,” I whisper, voice tight with awe and fear all tangled together.
Ava’s smile softens. She nudges the fry container toward me like this is just another ordinary conversation between us and not the moment that completely upends my entire outlook on love.
“Maybe it’s not theeasiestoption,” she says. “But when has anything in your lifeeverbeen easy?”
I laugh—a watery, stunned sound that bubbles up from someplace deep. “Touché.”
She grins. “Look, you’ve spent so much time trying to figure out therightanswer, but maybe there isn’t one. Maybe there’s justyouranswer, and if your heart says it’s all three… who says that’s wrong?”
I look at her, really look at her. There’s no judgment in her expression. Just love. Trust. A quiet kind of encouragement that lets me breathe a little easier.
